I remember my 15-year old self sitting on the couch with my brother, watching Nigella make delicious treats and wishing that teleportation was real. Perhaps what was most relatable was her sneaking into her kitchen in the middle of the night for some snacks from the fridge. As a university student, one of the first breakfasts that I learned to prepare was her American Breakfast Pancakes.

Evidence from 2013. Look at those Instagram Filters 😂

 I haven't made them in a while, and this week I was in the mood for some pancakes so I figured I would try this old favourite out.

A few notes before we get started: I am not a professional chef or a 'food guru' (not sure if that's the right term). When it comes to following recipes, I end up adding my own twists and ingredients based on what I'm in the mood for and what is available at the minute. Anyway, I just wanted to share some pancake goodness with all of you. 

The recipe that I will be sharing is for those with a sweet-tooth, so top off these pancakes with syrup, fruits or jam.

I will share the link of the original recipe down below if you're interested in making it exactly the way Nigella does. 

         Ingredients: 

                  ©      1½ cups of cake flour

©      Buy yourself a bouquet of flowers

©      Jam to your favourite song in your room

©      Visit a museum or an art gallery

©      Write down 3 things you are grateful for in life

©      Break up with your phone for half an hour

©      Take a nap

©      Reconnect with an old friend

©      Take a bubble bath or a long shower

©      Bake some Funfetti cupcakes

©      Meditate for ten minutes (This app will guide you)

©      Immerse yourself in a book of your favourite genre

©      List three things you love about yourself

©      Get creative: buy yourself an adult colouring book or print out a few pages and start colouring

©      Let a friend know how much you care about them

©      Recreate a makeup look by your favourite beauty blogger

©      Get yourself loads of popcorn, order a pizza, and watch a Rom-Com (The Proposal is one of my favourites)

©      Have dinner with your family

©      Hang out with your pet

©      Go out for a walk in the park

©      De-clutter both your physical surrounding and your digital space

What are your favourite acts of self-care? Let me know in a comment down below.

Thank you for reading!

Much Love,

I think we can all agree on one thing and that is the fact that brows shape your face. Other than simply defining your eyes, they add dimension to your face and gives it a sense of liveliness that only brows can. Whichever makeup look I choose to do, I always make sure that my brows are prim and proper before moving on to the rest of my face. I love very natural brows and I have been consistently talking about the Magic Brow by Lord & Berry. However I also love a more filled in effect especially for events, and more so if I know I will be taking a lot of photographs. For this reason, I've been using the DipBrow Pomade by Anastasia Beverly Hills.

Anastasia Beverly Hills (ABH) is a beauty brand that has been known for their epic brow range, liquid lipsticks, and everyone's favourite eyeshadow palette that is Modern Renaissance. The dipbrow pomade by ABH is one of those products that have created a lot of buzz in the beauty community. When it comes to products that are so heavily raved about YouTube and Instagram videos, I often wonder if they are actually worth the hype, and in my case (broke graduate student-yes we exist!) I tend to wonder if they are worth the price tag. I'm also not a makeup artist, so I was apprehensive when it came to using a pomade. You should also probably know that there's nothing that speaks to my soul than sales and free shipping. So when I saw that Cult Beauty offered free shipping on ABH products, I knew I had to pick it up. 

Price: $18.00 (Roughly around Rs. 2,800)

NET WT: 4.0 g/ 0.14 Oz

Available in 11 shades

Claims: 

An award-winning waterproof, multitasking, and buildable matte pomade that stays put. Apply and blend a small amount of Anastasia Beverly Hills DIPBROW® Pomade with an angled brow brush to effortlessly outline, fill, and texturize brows. 

Long-lasting and smudge-proof

High-pigment formula glides on easily and dries fast

Acts as an all-in-one brow product

Packaging:

The product arrived in a black cardboard box with the brand and product name, shade, and ingredients listed on it.

A little note with a word of caution and warning was also included in case anyone has any reaction to the product, which was an extra touch.


The product itself was in a clear glass pot with a black screw on lid with the ABH logo in copper. The name of the brand is inked on the side of the jar, and the name of the product, and shade are mentioned on a sticker at the bottom. Overall, the packaging is sturdy, compact and felt luxurious; very impressive.



 Keep in mind that you will need a spoolie and an applicator brush to use the product. The duo brush by ABH is another $18.00 but you can find inexpensive brushes to help you create that perfect arch. 

Wear:

Out of the shades available I picked Ebony, which is perfect against my skin tone and hair colour which is a dark brown (almost black). The product has excellent pigmentation, which can be either a pro or con based on how you use it. Personally, I dip my brush in once and lightly draw in little hair like lines to add to the sparse areas of my brows to make them appear fuller. Make use of a spoolie brush to really distribute the product and make it look more natural. I've found that this creates the most natural brow look. The product is definitely build-able. If you really pick up the product it will give you block brows, which obviously isn't the most natural. If you're a novice, I would definitely recommend being very gentle and 'greedy' with how you pick up the product.

In terms of the formulation, the pomade falls somewhere in between a wax and a cream. It's unbelievably smooth and creamy (for a brow product) but has a stiffness of a wax so that once applied it doesn't budge. It is very easy to pick up with a brush, and apply. They weren't kidding when they said it dries fast, so make sure you improve your dexterity. Remember, practice makes perfect.

As I said earlier, the best part is that once it dries, it stays put. It is indeed smudge-proof and lasted all day (6:30 a.m. to when I took my makeup off around 6 p.m.) without needing touch ups. In terms of the claim that it is water-proof, I would say it is waterproof for the most part. I applied it over my hand and rubbed the product under running water and there was a tiny amount of fading. Then again that is an extreme scenario isn't it? Even if you do get caught in the rain, unless you rub your brows harshly, the product wouldn't drip down your face.

Over time I've definitely noticed that there were cracks appearing in the product which could only mean that it's drying. So if you do get it, it's best to always seal the product shut and not let it be exposed to air for too long. I ordered mine back in June-July and it hasn't dried out on me thus far.

Would I recommend it?:

ABSOLUTELY!  I definitely think it's worth the hype. I feel like I've got my brows sorted thanks to this, and now all I need is a clear brow gel to keep them locked in place. 

DipBrow Pomade by Anastasia Beverly Hills

I'll admit I love matte lipsticks, demi-matte lipsticks, even some of those 'satin lipsticks' that sets as a matte finish. In fact, I can't remember the last time I wore a glossy lip. Perhaps it was in 2014-15 when I fell in love with that one Viana lip gloss. It might have been called 'Honey Dew' or something. I have been trying to heal my broken heart since it was discontinued. Dramatic much? Anyway, when I saw the ColourPop Ultra Glossy Lip in Fudg'd, I couldn't help but think how great the colour is, especially on medium-tan skin tones. You know the struggle is real when it comes to finding glosses to match darker skin colours. Perhaps makeup should be more inclusive, just saying. 

This lipstick was created in collaboration with Karrueche Tran and hence is limited edition. So if you're looking to get it, pick it up soon before it's gone. 

Price: $6.00

Claims:

A warm saddle brown in a sheer finish

The liquid lipstick comes in a white box which bears the ColourPop logo and the name of the product, with the name of the shade on the side (I'm sorry I don't have pictures for you, but it's pretty much the same as the typical Colourpop packaging). 

The product is packed in a clear tube with a silver cap. The products created in collaboration with Karrueche have a copper band on top of the tube, and it bears the name of the brand in copper as opposed to their typical holographic silver print. The name's already faded and I've had this only for just over a month. If that's not an indication of how often I've used this, then I don't know what is. The name of the shade is clearly stated on the bottom. The applicator is the typical easy-to-use, doe-foot applicator.

Wear:

Fudg'd is indeed a saddle brown which complements tan skin tones perfectly. It has a sheer finish as claimed so if you're looking for pigmentation, you ought to apply a lipstick underneath. FYI, I like wearing Fudg'd on top of French Toast by Gerard Cosmetics.

The formula is a little thicker than watery glosses I'm used to. What's noticeable is how smoothly it applied and how comfortable it felt on the lips. 

As for the sticky-ness factor, my lips didn't seem to be glued together when pursing, which is good.
Traveling in a tuk isn't ideal obviously, but this stayed put and didn't look like a right mess. You know what I mean, gloss marks on the cheeks and chin, yup, we've all been there.

Being a gloss, you can't exactly expect it to last very long, especially after meals. That is, unless you can eat the way the Kardashians eat their salads to prevent lip products from smudging. So I've been keeping this in my purse for touch-ups throughout the day. I would say in general it lasted for 3 hours on me (that's how long I lasted without snacking).

Shop This Post:

ColourPop Ultra Glossy Lip in Fudg'd

Let me know what you think of the ColourPop Ultra Glossy Lip in Fudg'd. If you've tried it, feel free to leave a comment down below.

Thank you so much for taking time to read this!

Much Love,

So you've had a bad day. It's okay! We all have them. Sometimes things just don't go according to plan, or someone says something rubbish and your feelings get hurt. You might have started the day comparing your life to someone else's and you feel inadequate or you're having anxiety about the future. Before you know it, you start getting angry and irritated at even the slightest things and can be very unforgiving, even towards yourself. 

Whatever the cause may be, we tend to get stressed out over ourselves, our lives, and our friends and family. Needless to say that these negative thoughts and feelings have serious consequences unless they're dealt with effectively.

People deal with bad days in different ways and there isn't a universal formula for de-stressing. I for one, like reading up on how different people deal with their bad days, and have incorporated some of those healthy coping mechanisms into my own self-care plan. Today I will share with you six of my favourite ways to de-stress after I've had a bad day. 

Shift in Perspective

Have you noticed the language you use when you're having a bad day? You probably tell yourself that this is the 'worst day ever', 'nothing will ever go right', or brand yourself 'an idiot' or  'a loser'. This is clearly unhelpful. While at the moment it would seem like it's 'absolutely terrible', looking back one day, you'd probably not even remember what happened or whether you were even THAT upset. I like to remind myself that it's 'okay', and that it's not the 'worst'. This shift in perspective narrates how I will spend the rest of my day or evening. 

Get Yourself a Cup of Tea and Some Comfort Food

I truly believe in the magic of a good cup of tea. Perhaps it's the Sri Lankan in me, I wake up to a cuppa and go to sleep after one. Hence there's something so comforting about a warm cup of ginger tea. And pasta. Ah the joys of good home-made pasta. And jambalaya. Okay this could go on... Another way to de-stress is baking because it's so relaxing. The icing on the cake is how this will spark those childhood joys of eating uncooked batter straight out of the mixing bowl. 

Listen to Music

Having recently discovered 'Breathe' by Pink Floyd, I have been repeating the lyrics over and over again. 

"For long you live and high you fly

And smiles you'll give and tears you'll cry

And all you touch and all you see

Is all your life will ever be"

Something a close friend of mine has said struck a chord with me. She said "music expresses our thoughts whenever we stay silent". So turn up the volume on your favourite song and completely immerse yourself in your self-care playlist. Yes, you heard that right. If you don't have a self-care playlist already, creating one itself could be de-stressing.

Cleaning and Organising

Okay I'll be honest, I am a very messy person. By that I mean, empty cups of tea sitting on top of my desk in the middle of piles and piles of paper and books, with handbags hanging off my chair. That's a bad picture, but it is what it is. Imagine walking into a mess of a room after having a bad day. There's no doubt it will fuel all the negative emotions, and make things go from bad to really really bad. So cleaning up and organising even if you spend a good hour scrolling on Pinterest how to do just that, can be de-stressing. As discrepant as it sounds, I am a meticulous list -maker, hence organising my work schedules, and planning for the week ahead in my new Ban.do agenda is a major stress-relief actvity. Besides it allows me to think and plan ahead, and offers a distraction from picking apart everything that went wrong that day. 

Engage in Meditation or Breathing Exercises

Meditation is the perfect way to start and end a day. When you've had a bad day and you're feeling overwhelmed, it can facilitate getting back into the right head space. I've spoken about Pacifica before, so I will not go into detail here. There are various meditation and breathing exercises available, ranging from one minute deep breathing exercises to nine-minute muscle relaxation. This would make up for a great daily wind-down activity as well. 

Products In This Post:
Yes To Coconut  Moisturising Sleeping Mask
Pacifica
Ban.do You're Killing It Agenda

Websites:
YesTo
Ban.do

Share your favourite ways to De-Stress After a Bad Day in a comment down below. I'm sure it will inspire and help many others.

Today I wanted to share with you my review of the Iconic Lipstick by Makeup Geek in the shade Candid. As many of you might have noticed from my Instagram profile, I have been loving this shade for everyday wear. Makeup Geek is a well-known brand, particularly when it comes to eye shadows. They are among the most pigmented, long lasting ones that are of high quality for an affordable price. To move from eye shadows to lipsticks is a huge step for a company. The fact that many beauty bloggers were raving about the lipsticks made me even more excited to try their products. When I saw that BeautyBay was having a sale on Makeup Geek items, I knew I had to grab this. I have never tried any makeup from the brand previously, so this was one of the first products I tried. 

There are 20 shades in the Iconic Lipstick range including both velvet-matte, and shine finish lipsticks. 

Price: $15.00 on MakeupGeek website

$15.40 on BeautyBay

(On sale the pricing of this was $8.70)

Claims:

Candid is a muted rosy brown with warm undertones and a shine finish.
Highly pigmented color in a shine finish leaves your lips feeling silky smooth. 

The sleek Rose-Gunmetal tubes feature a unique color indicator in the cap so you can easily find your ideal shade.

Cruelty-free and vegan

Paraben-Free

Packaging:

The lipstick comes in a box with a metallic side which displays the logo and another which has an ombré effect with black seamlessly integrating with the shade of the lipstick.

The name of the shade, ingredients, and the cruelty-free status of the brand are clearly listed on the package itself. 

The lipstick comes in a slim and sleek gunmetal coloured tube with the colour of the shade indicated on top. The packaging is very sturdy with a cap that seals well (you can actually hear a 'click' sound when closing).

Here's what I had an issue with. At first glance the colour indicator looked more pink and my initial thoughts were, 'gosh this colour is pretty, but it's not exactly how it looked on the website'. Then I opened the tube to find the actual colour to be more of a rose-brown as claimed. So while having a colour indicator on the cap of the lipstick is a brilliant idea, you can't always rely on them to tell you the exact colour.

The lipstick has a slanted oval shape and not the classic tear-drop shape.

Wear:

When you open the cap, you might get a light whiff of vanilla, but the scent is not strong and overpowering which is a positive. 

Candid is rose-brown on lighter skin tones. On my tan skin, it looks more mauve than rose. It does have a warm undertone which makes it flattering to wear as an everyday colour on me. It is well-pigmented and has a shiny finish as claimed. 

It glides with ease and applies smoothly over the lips. You don't have to drag it and it doesn't tug on the lips. In fact, the formula is very comfortable to wear. 

The flip-side is that it transfers a lot, and reapplication after a 11 a.m. snack of Maggi seemed necessary. In general it lasts about 5 hours on my lips.

Would I recommend it?:

For the colour and the comfortable formula, I would definitely recommend it. All the medium skin/ tan girls know the struggle to find a good everyday lip colour, and this one ticks that box. However I would recommend getting this when there are sales going on as the $15 price point is closer to that of luxury ranges. 

Shop This Post:

Makeup Geek Iconic Lipstick in Candid

Let me know what you think of the Makeup Geek Iconic Lipstick in Candid. If you've tried it, feel free to leave a comment down below.

Thank you so much for reading,

Much Love,